USA Road Trip - Day 15 (San Antonio, Texas)

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Up around 8am and had a light breakfast downstairs today as we ate so much yesterday we have committed to doing things differently today (we’ll see !). When we opened the curtains it looked pretty dreary outside with grey skies and misty rain showers. We decided to plan on being inside a bit today in case it rains. First stop was Rivercentre Mall as we wanted to see the documentary about the Alamo at the IMAX Theatre, and then after that go to The Alamo site once we knew the full story. Decided to get the E-Bus trolley which is free. We walked down to Market Street to the bus stop and waited for about 10 minutes, nothing coming so asked a bus driver who was going on a different route and he said, “look its just 2 block away” so we walked and we were there in less than 5 minutes. Sometimes the maps make the distance seem further than it actually is !! One thing I noticed here is they have a man speaking to you at the traffic lights whilst you are waiting to cross just like we saw at Savannah. He says “wait” when you hit the button just as in Savannah but here he does not say it again and again and again. Much more polite and when it is time to go he will say something like “you may now walk east across Market Street” Very nice. When we got to the Mall the first shop we saw was H & M. Kerry tried a few things but nothing quite right. Whilst she was looking around I went upstairs to buy the movie tickets to save a bit of time. We looked at a few shops and saw Johnny Rockets diner which I had not seen since my Penrith Plaza days 20 years ago, and next door was Which Wich diner which looked a bit unusual to us so we had a look at the menu in case we decided to go there for lunch. Whilst we were looking at the menu the Manager came out and asked us if we had dined here before and once we told him we had not, he started explaining how it works here. First you select a brown paper bag from the 10 options available as they are labelled with the meat you want (e.g. turkey, chicken, beef, ham etc.). Then on the bag there are various options printed on them that you tick boxes to select the extras like what cheese, what sauce, what dressing, what sized sandwich you want, hot or cold. Quite unusual and I guess it’s like filling in a form and taking to Subway instead of going through the whole process. Always something different to experience here and I wondered if we will see Which Wich in Australia one day. When we got to the IMAX theatre I had lost one ticket and the receipt so we had to plead to let us both in which they did, although iPhone was handy to provide proof of purchase as I paid with credit card so bank records helped with evidence. The movie went for 48 minutes and gave us a good historical account for the battle at The Alamo. After the movie we went to The Alamo which was free. The story was also told in a famous John Wayne movie (aka Hollywood style) and it’s pretty important to the Texans. A bit eerie standing on the grounds of such a fierce and violent battle. Weather still inclement but not raining so we went back to the shopping mall and Macy’s was here where Kerry did in fact make some purchases this time. I bought a six pack of Nike sports socks here too. They had some great bargains and we had a 10% discount coupon to use as well. Back home they charge $25- for 3 pairs of Nike socks. The 6 pairs here were only US $12.99. Kerry bought a sweater that was $60- originally and she got it for only $8.06 !! We then headed down to Riverwalk to grab a late lunch / early dinner around 4pm. We eventually found this place as they had a table for 2 available right on the river edge. After yesterday we decided today we would share and combine lunch / dinner. We decided on sharing a 12 oz grilled salmon that came with salad, beans with fries and a baked potato. That sounded OK, until it arrived on the table. They gave us the salad first which was nice, then the rest came out. The baked potato came from the kitchen but before that it had been in the Guinness Book of World Records as it was huge. A dish of beans (like a whole can of them) and we had enough to feed an army. Kerry’s then realized she had a duck sitting next to her chair politely waiting from some left overs. The potato skin tasted like I used to have when I was a young boy having jacket potatoes cooked on the BBQ. We just sat and relaxed and watched people walking by and took some nice pictures. The sunshine was now trying to break through. Afterwards we both agreed it was the best grilled salmon we had ever had. As they everything is bigger in Texas ! We visited a souvenir shop where they had heaps of really nice coffee mugs and then waked back along the Riverwalk and over the same bridge we started our travels yesterday but today no Canadians were spotted. Did a quick skype session with the kids and then drove off to see our NBA game at the AT & T Centre. It was about 15 minutes’ drive. Car parking was very orderly and cost $15-. We walked in and once past tight security we went inside and first thing we saw was all the San Antonio Spurs Cheerleaders sitting down signing autographs. They are not young girls but women who have had some body improvements if you know what I mean ! They had a poster with all the girls on it and you joined the line and every one signed it for you. Kerry thought it might be a good idea to get one done for Luke and decided I had to go in line and slowly trudge past all these beauties (the things I do for my family !!). However when I went around the corner the line went on and on and on. So we ditched them as it was only 20 minutes to game time and I wanted to see the warm ups. We were seated in Section 224, Row 7 Seats 13-14 which we bought online from Ticketmaster who were reselling them. I guess someone was a season ticket holder but did not want to go to this game. Our seats were awesome right on mid court in the first row of seats in upper deck. All the Spurs big guns played (Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, Danny Green, Boris Diaw, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Patty Mills). We also saw this Serbian guy called Boban Marjanovic who is 7 foot 3 inches tall and he also has funny looking ears ! Spurs would win the game 100-92 over the New Orleans Pelicans. Ginobli was probably the best and Patty Mills played 20 minutes and after missing his first 3 shots finished with 2-5 all 3 point attempts. The game went fast, lots of crowd interaction with the big video showing crowd shots of people smooching, dancing to DJ Quake, and one guy was reading a book ! They had a competition for crowd dance moves and a young boy about 10 was strutting his stuff with such an attitude it was fun to watch. The Cheerleaders were hardly seen at all (only twice I think). Once we left and got into our car we quickly left the parking lot and did not stop once on the 11km trip back to Springhill Suites. It took only 10 minutes. Boy I wish it was that easy leaving a concert at Brisbane Entertainment Centre. During the game Kerry spotted an advertising sign saying Kickapoo Casino. A weird name and I assume it is the location of the Casino. Not sure I’d like to live in Kickapoo ! Unfortunately for me it would not be the last time I see poo that night. When we arrived here last night I parked under a tree in the car park and the birds had a field day. The car was smothered in bird poop and it was a disgrace. So whilst Kerry was tucked up in bed reading her book, I snuck downstairs with a couple of hand towels and a rubbish bag and a bottle of water and did my best to get the Camry into a reasonable condition. What fun !! The weather had been OK today so nothing to concern us and about 25 degrees. Tomorrow we pack up and leave again as we head North to Fort Worth home of the Texas Longhorns.

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